Tampa, FL self described “apocalyptic straight edge” outfit CONTENTION are masters of a particularly devastating brand of metallic hardcore. Last weekend, the band played a momentous set at Sound and Fury festival in Los Angeles, and surprise dropped a three song CD at their merch table. Today, the NUCLEAR SUMMER EP, recorded and produced by John Howard at War House Studio, gets its official release through DAZE. The EP features two havoc inducing new tracks, “SECOND SUN” and “BLANK STARE,” and a cover of “X ON OUR KNEES X / UPSIDE YOUR HEAD” originally by 90’s straight edge power violence band The Swarm (aka Knee Deep In The Dead).
Stream NUCLEAR SUMMER HERE and purchase HERE.
On the messaging of NUCLEAR SUMMER, vocalist Cosmo Vidussi states:
“Modernity brings no enlightenment, only more refined methods of annihilation. Annihilation of the enemy. Annihilation of the self. Our leaders have shed their increasingly thin facades of humanity. The masses shamble through life in a drug and media fueled haze. They worship a machine that grinds them to dust and uses them for fuel. Cities are leveled in our name. Bombs are assembled with our tax dollars. We’re held hostage by a small group of deranged degenerates with nuclear arsenals and a lust for ruin.
Are these the final days? Or is the suffering of modernity only a single day swallowed by a quarter eon of unchecked brutality?
Two new tracks: Second Sun and Blank Stare. Two covers by The Swarm, a band we’ve cited as an inspiration since our first band practice in 2019. Nuclear Summer, hardcore for the end times.”
Contention have several shows on deck this fall, including a November run supporting label mates Pain of Truth. Full dates below.
First formed in 2019, Contention released a three song promo that same year, and have gradually built their sound as a band ever since. 2021 saw the release of their first EP, Laying Waste to the Kingdom of Oblivion, followed by 2022’s Summer Offensive. The band hit their stride with 2024 full-length Artillery From Heaven, pulverizing listeners with heavy hitting riffs, anguished vocals and blazing fast drums throughout 10 bone crushing tracks. The record found itself on year end lists from The New York Times, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, and more. Since its release, Contention has toured across North America, Asia, and Europe, bringing their activistic, raging hardcore worldwide.
Contention is Cosmo Vidussi – Vocals, Josh Howell – Guitar, Bayly Branson – Guitar, Vocals, D’Angelo Casanas – Bass, and Lucas Pereyra – Drums.
